nurse volunteers

goes to New York

Pandemic in the united states.

...but watching and hearing about it wasn't enough for a uk nurse.

He felt called to help...so he quit his job, knowing it wouldn't be there when he came back and went to new york.

Now, he has a message.

Abc36's justin roth spoke to him about his experience.

15 "the first week i had four or five patients, which is a lot, because most of them are on five or six drips, a piece.

They're all sedated.

They're on the ventilator.

In kentucky, i would have two patients like that."

Even outfitted in personal protective equipment, he was surrounded by death.

16 "they'd literally have semi-trucks parked out back to store the bodies in and keep them cool.

Some of them had two or three trucks, because didn't have anywhere else to keep the bodies."

He spent a little over a month helping in new york city.

Two of his patients spent the entire time in intensive care.

14 "no one got better, and got well enough to be able to leave, except for one patient.

And that was also one of my patients."

He has just one message for people 24 "i just wish people would take this a little more seriously.

I know that kentucky's in a better spot.

We acted earlier.

Things shut down a lot earlier to help flatten the curve.

Things are more spread out here than they obviously are in new york city.

But if things go right back to normal, and they go back to normal too soon, then it's going to get bad and it's going to be a lot worse than it has been."

06 "this is going to continue until we do get a vaccine.

I don't think this is going to go away."

If there is a surge this fall, zach plans to return to new york.

Justin roth abc36 news two counties are calling off